Provincial Japan

Guido Castagnoli
Provincial Japan
September 11 to November 1

Sasha Wolf Gallery is proud to announce the first solo exhibition by photographer, Guido Castagnoli.

Guido Castagnoli’s photographic investigation of the urban landscape of small Japanese towns takes us far from the stereotypes associated with contemporary Japan. There is no frenzied megalopolis, no rapidly expanding techno-city. Nor are there signs of the kind of extreme minimalism often associated with Japanese culture. Instead we encounter an atmosphere of quiet and refined suspension amid the somewhat surrealistic landscape of the Shizuoka district.

Although the settings depicted in the photographs will likely be unfamiliar to American audiences, the subjects, the focus on space and structures, and the conspicuous absence of people are reminiscent of the work of photographers like Stephen Shore, Robert Adams and others from the New Topographic movement. Provincial Japan is a series about the Japanese vernacular landscape. It is all the more noteworthy in the context of an American audience as it references America’s own kitsch and vernacular culture in ways that resonate.

Guido Castagnoli was born in Turin, Italy in 1976. After receiving his diploma in Advertising Graphics and Communication he began his professional career as an art director of a prominent advertising agency in Milan. His interest in photography began when he shot his first images using an old family-owned Leica. During the following years he left his position at the advertising firm to devote himself entirely to photography. His works have been exhibited in public and private institutions in Italy, Germany, England and Japan. He lives in Genoa and part time in Japan with his wife Seiko and his two daughters.